Woolworths resurrection on the cards

Defunct UK retailer Woolworths could yet rise from the dead with the news that former MD Tony Page is negotiating with investors with a view to securing a 10m deal to buy up 200 of the chain’s former outlets.

The Times reports that Woolies’ former boss was last year involved in a failed attempt to buy the Woolworths name following the retailer’s collapse. As a result, if Page secures the necessary funding he will also have to find a new brand name for the once cherished chain.

Page claims that he will make changes to the doomed Woolworths model in an effort to make a success of the business, with coasts being kept to a minimum and head office staff numbers to be kept below 30.

Were a new retailer to emerge from Woolworths’ ashes it would hope to mirror the success of ‘Wellworths’, the Dorchester based former Woolies’ store set up by ex-employee Claire Robertson, which is reportedly proving to be a success.